CURRENT FOCUS

nnumerable grievances and problems of the people, of individuals, of localities, of a city, town or village, and sometimes of people in general, arise from time to time. These may be man-made or caused by nature or by governmental functioning. These call for redressal, removal of their cause, avoidance of their recurrence, and provision of compensation where necessitated. Numerous organisations, institutions and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) have got created for assuming responsibility of amelioration and removal of these grievances and problems. These organisations and institutions have been created by individuals and groups motivated by considerations of providing service to the people, for which they either charge some fees or are reimbursed and authorised by the society or Government or some individual organisation. Quite a number of NGOs have taken over responsibility by providing free service for taking up problems of the people for redressal, by seeking directions from the Supreme Court or a High Court or other institutions such as National Consumer Redressal Commission, District Consumer Forums, Lokayuktas and Upa-lokayukstas etc.

COMMON CAUSE is one such NGO which has been pursuing the objective of seeking redressal of common and collective problems and grievances of the people by seeking directions through the instrument of filing Public Interest Litigations (PILs) before the Supreme Court or Delhi High Court or by taking them to the National Commission for Consumer Disputes Redressal. COMMON CAUSE was established 25 years ago on the initiative taken by Director H. D. Shourie after retirement from the Government of India service and also after a stint in the United Nations. The organisation has filed about 100 PILs which are termed Writ Petitions in normal terminology; through these Writ Petitions it has been able to solve issues and problems which have benefited some millions of people. It has wide membership, for which only a token fee is paid, for enabling the organisation to send to the members quarterly Periodical communicating to them the account of its services and the PILs filed and pursued.